Words
by LiveYoungDieFast
Summary: Pezberry one-shots based on one word chosen by readers.
1. Summary

o

 **Words**

 **By LiveYoungDieFast**

I got inspiration from the fifty words challenge I did a few years ago and I wanted to do something similar again.

I want people to suggest a single word and I will come up with a plot and write a short one-shot which will be at least over a thousand words.

I might use some of the universes I have created in older one-shots or from any of my stories so if you want a specific universe then feel free to suggest one of those too.

I will try my best to write them as quickly as possible but I'm working on a few other things too.

I also want to quickly mention Beebeeborez who gives me help and edits for me like she always does, so thank you in advance!


	2. Breakfast

o

 **Breakfast**

I've always been told that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. As a child every weekend I would spend with my Abuela, breakfast would consist of a buffet of food, usually too much for the two of us to eat. However, that didn't matter, she still cooked a variety of food insisting that I ate as much as I could handle.

In high school the importance of breakfast was discarded and instead of the wholesome breakfast I should have been having, I used to start the day on one of Sue Sylvester's shakes. It probably wasn't the best idea with all the energy I exhausted during cheerleader practices, but that was the price I had to pay to be a cheerio.

When I joined the police academy a proper breakfast was a must especially with the physicality of the job. It's been the same ever since, even though as a detective there are less foot chases a good breakfast still sets you up for the hard day ahead.

Breakfast; that's the sole reason I come to the same diner every morning. A good filling breakfast; not because of the gorgeous waitress.

Who am I kidding; of course it's because of the waitress. I could easily eat at home every morning, but instead I drive ten blocks to Pete's diner and eat some rather average food.

It all started two weeks ago when Dobbs and I decided to stop here for lunch. We sat at a table and were greeted by the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

We ordered our food and obviously Dobbs had to use his over used cops and doughnuts joke. The waitress laughed at his joke and even though I could tell it was just to humor him, the smile on her face was infectious.

I drank my coffee as fast as I could, eager for a refill and more communication with the waitress whose name I learned was Rachel.

Ever since that day I have been finding excuses to return to the diner just to get a glimpse of Rachel. I tried to get there whenever I had any free time, but the morning was always my favorite.

It didn't matter what time of the morning, even in the very early hours, Rachel would greet you with an enthusiastic welcome and that million dollar smile. That smile that brings me back to this diner every day.

Today was no different as I enter Pete's and find an empty table at the far end of the room. It doesn't take long for me to find Rachel as she exits the kitchen with a plate and serves it to a man sitting in the booth across the room from me.

It doesn't take long for her to notice me either and once she finishes serving the man she approaches me.

"Hello welcome to Pete's diner. Can I get you a cup of coffee Detective Lopez?"

"How do you know my name?" I ask. I'm sure I've never mentioned it before.

"I saw you on the news a week ago when you made that appeal about the young boy that was missing."

"Luckily little Tommy is safe and back home with his parents. Coffee would be great thank you Rachel" Santana says pretending to look at the waitresses name tag. She didn't want to seem obvious that Rachel's name had been in her memory since the first time they met.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Rachel asks as she pours Santana a large cup of coffee.

"I'll have the eggs and bacon with some brown toast. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Hopefully it won't take too long" Rachel says as she writes the order down on her note pad.

I watch as Rachel makes her way over to the counter and puts my order in. She then moves onto serving other customers, showing off her enthusiastic personality that I've come accustomed to. I keep taking sips of my coffee, eager to ask Rachel for a refill. It's a tactic I use every time I'm here. Dobbs would be laughing his ass of if he knew what I had been doing.

I think he suspected that I had a crush on the waitress after our first visit to the diner; he teased me a little as we drove around the streets of Lima. God knows what he would say if he knew I spent nearly every morning here just so I can see her again.  
I finish the last drop of my coffee just as Rachel approaches me with that smile on her face and my plate of eggs and bacon in her hand.

"Here you go detective" Rachel says as she puts the plate on the table in front of me.

"I'll just get you your cutlery."

This is something that I've been noticing recently, usually when Rachel serves other customer she brings them their plate and their utensils at the same time, but with me she gets them separately. It's got me thinking that maybe Rachel has her own devious tactics of getting to come over to my table more times than she needs too. She did ask me if I wanted a refill on my coffee yesterday when I had at least a third of my last cup left.

Rachel appears at my table again and places a napkin next to my plate before topping it off with the knife and fork.

"There you go."

"Thank you Rachel."

I think about asking Rachel for a refill on my coffee, but I want to test my recent theory that she keeps finding excuses to come back to my table.

She leaves the table and allows me to start my breakfast. I'm just about halfway through my plate when she arrives back at the table with a coffee pot in hand.

"Can I get you a top up Detective?"

I could just assume that Rachel is being a tentative waitress and I'm not the reason that she keeps coming over to my table. However, the man in the booth across from me tried to flag her down for a refill, but she ignored him in favor of coming over to my table. Surely she wouldn't have ignored him normally, she just seemed a little eager to come over to me again, not that I'm complaining. It definitely boosts my theory that Rachel could be interested.

"Yes you can thank you. My name is Santana by the way; you don't need to keep calling me Detective."

"I apologize, I didn't want to come across as rude and not respect your title" Rachel says with a hint of a blush.

"Well I insist that you call me Santana from now on so there is no reason for you to feel like that."

"Thank you Santana."

"This may seem a little forward, but are you free Wednesday afternoon?" I ask. It's time to test out my theory.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"That depends if you want it to be a date. If you do then yes, I'm asking you out on a date."

"I finish my shift at twelve thirty on Wednesday. I would be delighted to spend the rest of the afternoon with you."

"I'll call you on Wednesday, my schedule if free now, but you never know what can happen in my job" I explain.

"That sounds perfect."

Rachel scribbles something down on her notebook and hands it to me, it's her phone number.

"Will I see you before then?" Rachel asks.

"Probably, I have to get breakfast somewhere. I might as well go to the place that I know has excellent service."

Rachel laughs but it's cut short by the guy in the booth shouting for Rachel's attention. He's probably still waiting on his coffee.

"I'll see you later Santana."

"I'll look forward to it."

Every chance I get, I come to this diner to eat breakfast under the excuse that breakfast was import. However I was wrong, it wasn't breakfast that was the best way to start the morning. It was seeing Rachel.

* * *

 _Word suggested by Beebeeborez_.

 _Universe: Til Death Do Us Part._


	3. Proposal

o

 **Proposal**

Santana picks up the file on the top of the pile she has gathered and opens it, spreading it out on the desk in front of her. It was a case assigned by the court and after a quick scan of the documents she finds that it's a death by reckless driving.

The man was drunk, his abilities clouded by alcohol as he took to the wheel. His car hit another and killed the woman inside. It hit too close to home. She remembers that day so clearly, the day when her parents were taken away from her. It's what caused her life to spiral out of control; it wasn't until she met Rachel where things started to fall back into place again.

As she carries on reading she finds out that the woman has a child; a little girl, just six years old. Santana was left without both parents, but she was eighteen at the time, she was old enough to look after herself. There was no mention of a father, it seems like the women was a single parent, something rarer now than it is in the twenty first century.

This little girl's story is also similar to the heartbreak in Artie's life. He also lost his mother in a car accident, he was in the car too so not only was he left motherless he was also left paralyzed from the waist down. Artie had his grandmother; Rose to take him in after his mother died and Santana had her Abuela until she decided to leave and get her own apartment.

It seems like this innocent child has no family connections at all. Since the father was unknown she couldn't be sent to live with his family and it seemed like her mother had no family connections either. It was a terrible situation that meant the only outcome would see the girl go into foster care and hopefully adopted.

The girl's story was a mix between what had happened in Santana's life and what had happened in Artie's. It felt like a sign, a sign that she had to help get justice for this child. She would do everything she possibly could to make sure that the man that had changed this girl's life forever was punished for what he had done.

There's a gentle knock on the door, Santana looks up to find her co-worker Pete standing by the open door.

"Santana, did you look over the case I left on your desk?"

"I'm just reading it now."

"Good. We have a court date set for two weeks. I need you to be ready for then."

"I will be. I saw in the file that there is a child involved in the case. What's happening with her?" Santana asks.

"She has no family that can take her in so the only option is adoption. It's unfortunate for her; she'll probably be in care until she's eighteen."

"What makes you think she won't be adopted?"

"I..She.."

"Come on Pete, you don't normally struggle to say what you think."

"She's has Hispanic heritage, most likely from her father. You know that they struggle to find homes for children like her. White families want white children. I'm sorry" Pete explains.

"You don't have anything to apologize for Pete. You shouldn't feel uneasy to say things like that around me, it's okay I understand."

"Thanks Santana. I'll see you later."

"Bye Pete" Santana says as she carries on reading the file.

* * *

Santana enters the house and heads into the living room where she finds Luke sitting on the rug coloring. It's still surreal to her that she has Finn's four year old son living with her. It has been a year since Anne had died and Luke was put into Rachel's custody.

"Tana!" Luke squeals as he sees her enter the room.

"Hi Lukey. Did you have a good day at pre-school?" Santana asks as she scoops up the little boy and places him on her hips.

"Yep. I drew you a picture."

"I can't wait to see it."

"Rachel put it on the fridge" Luke says.

"Let's go and have a look."

Santana carries the little boy into the kitchen and finds Rachel cooking.

"Hey" Santana greets giving her girlfriend a quick kiss.

"You didn't have to cook."

"I know but I wanted to."

"Luke said that he drew something for me."

"Yes I stuck his masterpiece on the refrigerator" Rachel says as she moves over to the appliance, removes the drawing and hands it to Santana.

"This is great Luke!" Santana beams causing a big smile to appear on the boy's face.

"Why don't you go back in the living room and continue playing with your toys."

Santana places the boy on the floor and watches as he runs off towards the living room.

"How was your day at work?" Rachel asks as Santana puts Luke's picture back on the fridge.

"Good. I was given an interesting case today. I actually have a proposal for you."

"I think it's safe to say it's not marriage since that still isn't possible."

"How would you feel about adopting another child?"

"I wouldn't be opposed to it and it must mean something to you if you're asking."

"It's a six year old girl called Mia. Her mother was killed in a car accident, some drunken idiot ran into her. She has no family that can take her, her only choice is adoption, but Pete said that's unlikely because she's Hispanic."

"So you feel like you have a connection with this girl, because you're stories are similar?"

"Yeah I do."

"Then set up a meeting with the adoption agency."

"Are you sure about this? It's a big commitment."

"I know it is, but so was Luke. That was a surprise for both of us, but we decided to give him a home and if you think the best place for that little girl is here with us then I fully support you."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"I think you'll find you're the amazing one Santana. You saw that this little girl was in need of help and you wanted to give it to her."

"I'll call Pete; he'll be able to help me with the right way to do things."

Santana heads into the bedroom to make the call privately while Rachel continues to make dinner. She returns around fifteen minutes later with a small notebook in her hand.

"Pete gave me the details for the adoption agency. There is just one catch; you will have to adopt her. Apparently I can't because I'm involved with the case. You'll have to do it through a single parent adoption, they are only allowed on special occasions, but Pete thinks it'll go through. He said that he'll help us any way he can. So do you still want to do this?"

"I'm sure Santana."

"Okay, Pete will give me some forms tomorrow and we can start our application."

* * *

It takes two weeks before Rachel gets a call from the adoption agency, neither had allowed themselves to get too carried away just in case Rachel isn't chosen to adopt Mia.

"Miss Berry, it's nice to meet you. My name is Susan Perkins; I'll be the one working on your application."

"It's nice to meet you too Susan, please call me Rachel. This is Santana; she's my friend and my lawyer."

"Well we'll probably need Santana the friend more than Santana the lawyer" Susan smiles.

"Please take a seat."

"I have looked through your application and I am happy with what I have read, just think of this as an informal meeting. We'll have a talk and then I'll take you to meet Mia. If the application goes through we'll give you a test run where we let Mia stay with you for a week and then we'll proceed from there."

"So, on your application you said that you were single, is that still the case?"

"Yes and I have no interest in dating anyone at the moment. My first priority is the children and then my job."

"You file states that you have a child in your custody already."

"Yes, Luke he's four years old. I have been looking after him for a year now after his mother died. His father passed in the Vietnam war so she was a single mother, when she was told she had cancer she made arrangements for him to be put in my custody for when she passed."

"I talked to the agency that worked on that case and they told me that they are happy with Luke's care and they gave you a glowing reference so there is no worry there. I just have to ask these questions as procedure. You mentioned a job."

"I'm an actress on Broadway; rehearsals are during the day so the children will be in school and as for performances Santana will be at home to look after them."

"So you and Miss Lopez live together?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"It shouldn't be, we will just have to evaluate you too Miss Lopez."

"That's fine."

"How long have you been living together?"

"We got an apartment together when we went to college; we thought it would be better to share the rent. It just seemed easier to stay sharing the apartment and once Luke was put in Rachel's custody we thought about whether Rachel and Luke should get their own place, but it made sense for me to stay and help her with Luke. Neither one of us had raised a child before and it seemed sensible to have two people there instead of one. We recently moved into a house so we all have more space."

"Well it seems like Mia will have two good people to look after her. I think it's time you finally got to meet her. I'll be back in a second."

"Mia, this is Rachel and Santana"

"Hello."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mia."

"Do you speak Spanish?"

"Si."

"Yo se que tienes miedo con toda esta gente aqui, pero no te preocupes. Puedes hablarme en Español si te es mas facil." _("It's probably scary for you will all of these people here but you don't have to worry. You can speak Spanish if it makes things easier.")_

"La gente no le gusta cuando hable Español" _("People don't like it when I speak Spanish.")_

"Tu me puedes hablar en Español cuando quieras. Quiero que te sientas comoda con nosotros. Esta es mi amiga Rachel" _("You can speak Spanish to me any time you want. We want you to feel comfortable around us. This is my friend Rachel.")_

"Hi."

"That's a pretty dress that you're wearing" Rachel tells the little girl.

"Thank you. Yellow is my favorite color" Mia says, becoming more confidant.

"What other things do you like?" Rachel asks.

"I don't know."

"What about cookies?" Santana asks.

"Rachel bakes the best cookies in the world."

"Chocolate chip?"

"Chocolate chip, oatmal raisin, she can make anything."

"Can we bake some together?"

"Of course we can!" Rachel smiles.

"I don't think you have much to worry about Miss Lopez, it seems like those two will get on famously. Mia seems to have a connection with you too. Please excuse me if this sounds rude, but I'm glad that she'll have someone with Hispanic routes to influence her. It's part of her and it'll be a shame if she had to suppress it so to speak. I think you and Miss Berry will make great parents" Susan says with a knowing smile on her face.

Santana is grateful that they had someone like Susan handling their adoption. She only seems to care about the children's best interest and it seemed like she knew about Rachel and Santana's relationship but was still willing to go ahead with the adoption anyway. She wishes that there were more Susan Perkins' out there.

She knows that there is still a long way to go before Mia will be a part of their family. They'll be under probation at first and Luke will have to adjust to living with another child in the house but Santana feels positive. If she hadn't stayed in the past she wouldn't be with Rachel and she wouldn't have been here to give both Luke and Mia loving homes. It just proves that she made the right decision all those years ago.

* * *

 _Word suggested by: sasha272_

 _Universe: A Matter Of Time (Ending One)_

 _A/N Thanks to Beebeeborez for the translation._


	4. Honeymoon

o

 **Honeymoon**

Santana thinks that this could be her version of paradise. She's laying under the sun, on a golden sandy beach, just a few feet away from the clear blue ocean. The best part of it is that she is not alone, she has Rachel with her; the woman that she married just a week ago and made her hers, her wife.

It was pure bliss. They were lying together soaking up the sun and just relaxing in this serine, peaceful picturesque landscape.

"Mami!" A voice yells, destroying Santana's peace.

The voice belongs to Azaria, Rachel and Santana's daughter. They had discussed the decision of whether to bring the five year old on their honeymoon or not, but they thought that since it was their first vacation since they reunited, that they should go as a family.

"Mami, I want to go and swim in the ocean."

"Why can't Mommy take you?"

"I wanted you to come with me" Zari says with that pout on her face that she knows is Santana's weakness. She now understands why she was spoilt so much as a child, her own pout must have worked on her father just as much as Azaria's works on Santana's.

Although it seemed that the pout wasn't the only thing that Azaria inherited from Santana, the little girl could also have a mighty temper on her. She was a little hybrid of both Rachel and Santana and as much as Santana loves her, that thought was also scary sometimes.

"I'm sure that Mami will take you when she's ready sweetheart, just let her relax for a little bit and maybe make a sandcastle. I can help you if you'd like."

"It's fine Rach, I'll take her for a swim."

Santana's glad that they were on a private beach, most people knew about her condition, but that still didn't stop her from feeling awkward if someone caught a look at her in her Speedos. As a child she always wore baggy swim shorts to hide her secret from the other children, but now she was older and more confident she wears her Speedos to get a better tan.

The other positive to being on a private beach was that there were no paparazzis around. The press had a field day when they found out that Santana had a secret child, but her PR team had managed to control it and weeks later it was old news, allowing them to adjust to becoming a family.

"Come here then baby girl, let's get you ready."

Zari bounces over to her mother with a big smile on her face. Santana grabs the bottle of waterproof sun screen and applies it liberally on her daughter's skin. She applies some to her own skin, with the help of Rachel who applies it to her back.

She then grabs Zari's water wings and securely places one on each of Zari's arms before grabbing her hat and placing it on the little girl's head.

"I think we're ready. Are you joining us?" Santana asks her wife.

"I think I'll stay here and watch from the beach."

"Okay then, let's get going baby girl."

Santana takes her daughter's hand as they walk down the golden sandy beach towards the ocean.

"I've never been in the ocean before" Zari says.

Santana has missed a lot of firsts in Azaria's life. She missed her first step, her first word and even her first day of school but she's also finding that she's been a part of many new firsts for the young girl. This was her first time in another country, her first trip on a plane and now she'll get to experience her daughter's first swim in the ocean. Santana wonders if that's why Rachel didn't want to come, she got to experience a lot of Zari's firsts by herself and maybe now she wants to give Santana the same experiences too.

"Mami, are there sharks in the ocean?"

This is one of those moments where Santana has to carefully think about her answer, usually Rachel would answers Zari's questions, but she wasn't here so Santana was by herself on this one.

"There are, but only in certain places. We'll be fine."

"Okay."

That was it, one simple word to prove that the little girl whose hand is clutched in hers trusts her completely. Azaria has been back in her life for just over a year now, but Santana still feels like she's learning how to be a parent every day. Rachel tells her that she's a good mother and Azaria always tells her how much she loves her, so maybe she's not too bad at this parenting thing.

* * *

Rachel smiles as her wife and daughter play in the sea together. It only took Santana a few months after reconnecting before she proposed. She had told Rachel that she had left her get away once before and she never wanted that to happen again. They were married less than a year later, Rachel still can't believe that it was just a few days ago that they had exchanged their vows.

It was nice to spend some time together just as a family. Once they get back to reality Santana would be working on her new album, Rachel was going to start audition again and on top of that they had decided to buy a house together.

It seems such a long time ago since that fateful Christmas Eve, but Rachel couldn't be happier with her life now.

"Hey" Santana says as she sits down on the towel across from Rachel. She puts on her sunglasses and lies down so she can dry off in the sun.

"Did you enjoy your swim?" Rachel asks her daughter who sits on her mother's lap.

"Yep! It was cold at first, but it was fun."

"That's great sweetie."

"Can we get ice cream?"

"Sure, we're on vacation right?" Rachel replies.

"Mami, come on we're getting ice cream" Zari says getting up from Rachel's lap and going to stand over Santana.

"Don't worry love, I'll take her. You can stay here and relax a little longer."

"It's okay. I'll come with you. I could go for some ice cream too."

Santana holds out her hand for Rachel to take, they might as well use this as an excuse for a romantic stroll up the beach as Zari walks slightly ahead of them, dancing along the golden sands as she goes.

* * *

The family has just enjoyed dinner at a nice little restaurant, but Santana decides that it was too early to go back to the hotel, so they start to look for a child friendly place they could spend the rest of their evening in.

"What about this place?"

"Santana there is a half naked woman dancing on the table. I doubt it's an appropriate place to take five year old."

"I think she's a belly dancer, but okay we'll keep looking. There must be a kid friendly place around here somewhere."

"What about that place? It looks like a karaoke bar and there are a few children inside" Rachel suggests.

"That sounds good to me."

Santana didn't really care where they stopped anymore, she just wanted to sit down, have a few cocktails and enjoy her night. It took them nearly an hour to find an appropriate restaurant for them to eat dinner in. They had to find somewhere to suite not only Rachel's diet but also Zari's who had started to become more fussy with what she would eat. She never had the chance to complain when she was living in hostels and homeless shelters with Rachel, but now she had somewhat of a choice she was using that to her full advantage.

They find a quiet booth at the back of the karaoke bar, there is someone singing their own rendition of 'Dancing Queen', as a few children dance and play on the dance floor.

"I'm going to get us a few drinks."

"Okay but I don't want to drink too much because Zari might wake up early."

"We'll just have one or two."

"You can drink as much as you want, I'll get up in the morning. You just enjoy yourself."

Santana doesn't think it's fair that Rachel always tries to sacrifice things for her. She thinks it's because Rachel felt like she had intruded on Santana's life when they found each other again. She had told Santana that she didn't want to interrupt her life and even though Santana reassures her that she's not, sometimes Rachel still feels that way.

"Babe, it's fine. I don't want you to have to take care of both of us, besides I want to remember this vacation, it is our honeymoon after all."

Santana was actually starting to enjoy her night. Rachel and Zari had got on stage and sang one of Santana's songs on the karaoke. She hadn't realized that her music had reached the Caribbean, but the people seemed to enjoy her wife and daughter's performance.

It was starting to near ten o'clock at night and Santana was only on her second cocktail of the night. Before Rachel and Zari, her night would just be starting at this time and she probably wouldn't remember the rest of it.

"Santana, I think we should get our little one to bed. She's falling asleep."

"Alright, let me take her."

Santana takes her half asleep daughter from her wife's lap and holds her close to her chest, she might be five years old, but luckily she's small for her age.

When they arrive back at the hotel, Santana changes Zari into her pajamas which is a lot harder with the girl too sleepy to cooperate than it normally is. Once she's finished she places her daughter into bed and kisses her goodnight.

Santana makes her way to the room she's sharing with Rachel and finds her wife already in bed.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, she's out like a light" Santana replies, as she strips out of her clothes and slips in the bed next to her wife.

She gets as close to Rachel as possible who wraps an arm around her waist. Santana moves her hand so she can softly caress her wife's face before placing a kiss on her lips.

"I love our daughter, but I'm glad that I'm finally alone with you."

"I know what you mean. We're on our honeymoon; I can't believe that we're actually married."

"Well you better believe it baby, I have a certificate to prove it and you have one hell of an expensive rock on your finger" Santana laughs.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Santana leans in for another kiss, one that's a little less tame this time. Her hand moves from Rachel's face so she can let it roam over Rachel's body. This was her idea of a honeymoon; they had just got married and expressed their love in front of all of their family and friends, that's what the wedding was for. The honeymoon, however, was for them to express their love for each other, alone.

Rachel's hand starts to trail down her back as Santana decides to move her lips from Rachel's to her wife's neck instead. This is what she's been waiting for all night.

"Mom, Mami?"

"Seriously?" Santana whispers against her wife's neck.

"What is it sweetie?" Rachel asks, pushing Santana onto the other side of the bed.

"I don't like sleeping in a strange place without you."

"Alright, come on in baby girl" Santana says lifting up the sheet to let her daughter climb into the bed.

"Love you, night night" Zari says as she snuggles in between her mothers.

Santana puts an arm around her daughter, her hand stretching out so she can reach Rachel's too.

"I'm sorry this wasn't the honeymoon you expected" Rachel whispers through the darkness.

"Maybe it wasn't, but I wouldn't change it for the world" Santana says as she looks down at her sleeping daughter cuddled between herself and Rachel.

* * *

 _Word suggested by: Indianara_

 _Universe: Fairytale Of New York (Christmas Circumstances)_

 _TA/N These might take a little longer to get out as I'm trying to work on my Christmas one-shots too. If anyone has an ideas for those, please suggest them to me!_


End file.
